The Demon Lord of the Belkan War
by The Schizophrenic MC
Summary: On March 25th, 1995, Belka invaded its neighbors. The Republic of Ustio relied on mercenaries to retake its lands. He was one such mercenary. He is the man I seek. A loose rendition of my view on Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.    T for Language
1. Prologue

The Demon Lord of the Belkan War

**Prologue**

It was a frigid day. As he stood in the cold hangar, Mark Fleugel stared at the plane before him. It was an F-15C Eagle, a bog-standard fighter that nearly every air force employed. Really, the only way to distinguish this plane from the countless others were the blue markings on the wings. He was a mercenary, under Ustio employ. He'd flown this plane, many times before, but never into battle. Valais Air Base, where he was stationed, hadn't fought in the initial invasion.

Sometimes, he would just come into the hangar and look at his plane. To take in its beauty. He reached out and touched the side of the nose, looking up. The cold metal stung his palm, but all the same, this was hisaircraft, hisangel. His mouth cracked into a smile as he looked at the emblem painted on the tail: a red dog's head, baring its teeth at the world. It was the insignia of the Ustian Air Force 6th Air Division, 66th Air Force Unit, Galm. Mark Fleugel had just been promoted to Galm's flight lead.

He hardly noticed the sound of the door creaking on the side of the hangar, but the voice that called out reached him.

"Yo," a man said, causing Mark to look over his shoulder, "we're wanted in the briefing room."

With that, the man walked off. Mark recognized him to be the pilot of the plane behind his own, in the hangar. It had one red wing. He was the man known as Solo Wing. Pixy, in these parts.

Mark turned around and followed the man. This was sure to bring some pay.


	2. Glacial Skies

**Chapter One: Glacial Skies**

"Oh, him?" the man said, "Yeah, I know him. It's going to take awhile. It happened years ago. Did you know... There are three kind of aces? Those who seek strength. Those who live for pride. And those who can read the tide of battle," he spoke, extending a finger for each kind, "Those are the three. And him... He was a true ace."

He was a fighter pilot they called "Solo Wing Pixy." He was a colleague of the man I seek.

Ten years ago, there was a war that engulfed the world. The Belkan War. And in that war was a pilot who trailed across the sky, and disappeared from history. He was a lone mercenary who inspired both fear, and admiration. He is the man I seek. And so... with the words of "Solo Wing" the curtain rises.

"It was a cold and snowy day..."

* * *

In the briefing room, the projector lit up, displaying on the screen the logo of Axe & Hammer Precision Instrument. The operator navigated through several screens, reaching the one intended for the briefing.

"Listen up!" he said, "We have a situation on our hands. A major squadron of Belkan bombers has crossed our border, and is making its way here, to Valais Air Base." The screen showed several points, representing the bombers.

"Apparently, they intend to attack our base, in an initiative to gain hegemony over the entire Republic of Ustio. Valais Air Base is our country's last line of defense. If our base falls, no one will be left to stop Belka from taking over Ustio."

"Your mission is to destroy the squad of bombers and defend our base. Belka's invasion must end here."

The briefing screen went black, and the pilots were dismissed to the hangars, to ready their planes. Mark ran to the hangar where his, and Pixy's, planes were waiting. He oversaw the loading of the medium-range AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles on both planes – flight leads decide what loadouts the entire squadron utilize – and boarded his Eagle. Activating the engines, he saw Pixy climb into his own plane. They taxied out to the runway and took off.

They streaked over the mountains along the flight path. Pixy fell into formation on Mark, or rather, Cipher's, left wing.

"It's starting to come down," he said, adjusting his plane.

"This is base command," the operator told the pilots over widecast, "Guess all you boys managed to get up. Galm-1, Galm-2, maintain present course."

"This is Galm-2. Roger that."

The operator said, "Bearing 3-1-5, Belkan bombers approaching."

"Nobody wants to bail out into a mountain of ice," Pixy told Cipher, "We're counting on you, flight leader."

"All units, prepare to intercept."

"You'd better have our pay ready and waiting," Pixy remarked.

"That's only if we both make it through this alive."

"Be ready to pay up. We'll be back before you know it."

Their afterburners roared as they flew their planes towards the incoming Belkan squadron. The operator came back over the line, "Galm Team, shoot down all enemy bombers. Don't let them get to our base. Galm-2, follow all orders from Galm-1. Free engagement is prohibited during this operation."

"Roger," he replied, "awaiting your orders, Cipher. You're Galm-1, now."

The two banked to their left, directly facing the bomber group. Cipher's radar beeped as it tracked an enemy fighter.

"_Only if he engages me,"_ he thought, thumbing the weapons safe switch. He was now weapons-free, meaning at the push of a button, he could launch a missile at whatever he targeted.

"Cipher," Pixy said, "I've heard stories about you. They say you never let your prey get away."

He replied, "Just stay on my six. Weapons hot."

His computer buzzed, signaling he was locked onto one – two – of the bombers. He fired two of his AMRAAMs at the lumbering planes. Seconds later, they impacted, destroying the targets. Switching back to the short range radar on his Sidewinder missiles, he locked onto one of the escorts, an F-15, like his own, and fired.

"Three down," he said, scanning the sky, and pulling around to face the bearing the rest were coming from.

Cipher switched back to AMRAAMs and locked onto four more bombers, firing on them. The fifth plane in the group escaped, only because he didn't have another missile.

"Pixy, attack my target," he said, pushing his throttle to afterburner. Pixy fired a missile and it struck the bomber. Cipher had broken off. He was aiming his plane at one of the fighter escorts, an F-4 Phantom. Approaching it, he fired the plane's gun at the enemy, riddling it with the small rounds. They had a devastating effect, and the fighter exploded.

One bomber, to his right, was turning around. It must have been damaged.

"One of the bombers is leaving the battlefront," the operator said, "he must have chickened out."

"Why would he leave after getting this far?" Pixy asked.

"Who knows? But I'm getting paid to drop these things from the sky," Cipher said, and pursued the plane. Right on its six o'clock position, he fired a salvo of gun rounds into it, perforating its fuel tanks, and setting the whole thing ablaze before it exploded in the air. In a fluid movement, he swooped up, targeting another bomber. He fired his two remaining Sidewinder missiles, destroying it.

A Belkan pilot said over widecast, "Lowlife mercenaries! Only you would be so cowardly to shoot down a plane that's out of commission!"

"Pixy," he said on the radio, "I want you to break out of formation and take out as many as you can. No sense in letting me have all the fun."

With that, he engaged two more fighters with his gun, and blasted them out of the sky. Following suit, Pixy took out two more bombers.

"There's only one left," he said, forming up on Cipher's wing.

"This one's mine. Weapons safe, and stay glued to my six," he replied.

"Roger that, Master Arm switch is in the safe position."

Cipher flew straight ahead, right in the flight path of the remaining bomber.

"_Two thousand meters... One thousand... Three hundred..." _

With only four hundred feet to the target, he fired into the plane's nose and cockpit, and pulled up, flying right over the falling craft.

"Base command to Galm Team. The enemy attack unit has been successfully intercepted."

* * *

"Cipher," Pixy said, pulling back onto his wing, "I got a feeling you and me are gonna get along just fine... Buddy."

They received permission to land, and did so, touching down on the ice-cold runway of Valais Air Base.

Indeed, he'd never flown _this_ plane into battle. But it wasn't his first combat sortie. And it most certainly wouldn't be his last.

"It all started on that snowy day. My first impression was... He had potential."


	3. Annex

**Chapter 2: Annex**

The Belkan War is shrouded in mystery. But, now, a decade after the peace accords, a portion of the records was finally released. I quickly got a hold of it. Wanting more details, I acquired information from unknown sources. There was a reason for my obsession.

The roots of the war lie in the Belkan federal law review that took place in 1988. Belka, suffering from economic strife, permitted its eastern territory to secede... And the Republic of Ustio was born. But, Belka's economic troubles did not subside. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the situation, the world superpower, Osea, continued to flourish. Amidst the economic panic, an extreme right-wing party took power within Belka, aiming to restore strength and stability to the nation. And, on March 25th, 1995, with the discovery of natural resources in Ustio, Belka began to invade its neighbors. It was the beginning of the Belkan War.

Unprepared, each country fell quickly before the might of the legendary Belkan Air Force. In just a few days, they occupied all territories, except for the mountain range. In response, the occupied Ustio government military placed all their hopes on a joint operation between Osea and the foreign mercenary forces. This, of course, can be found in any history book. But I noticed a strange similarity in the materials I gathered. There were several accounts about a mercenary, all followed by the codeword, "Demon." But, most of the information was incomplete. Still, I was intrigued. I decided to pursue the history of the Belkan War through this mercenary. I was certain I would find something, there. Would it be the hidden truth behind the war? Or just another battlefield legend?

I wasn't able to meet the mercenary, himself. Actually, it's questionable if he ever did exist. But, thanks to some old friends in the military, I was able to track down several individuals who knew him. "Solo Wing" is one such man.

* * *

The men of the squadron sat around in the briefing room, watching the display. A map of an area of Arlon, with several objects noted as targets was the subject. The base operator briefed them.

"We must regain control over Route 171, which runs through Arlon, to secure a transit route for our ground troops. There are bridges along this route, three over the Aare River. All heavily guarded by the Belkan Armored Corps. Securing this route is critical to Ustio's attack on the Belkan forces. Destroy the Belkan ground units blocking passage along this route, and secure this supply line between our forces and the Osean Army. All pilots, prepare for launch."

They all got up and walked out of the room, each heading for their respective hangars. Larry, Pixy's real name, followed Mark.

"Yo, buddy," he said, "this is gonna be an air-to-ground op. I take it, you'll load us out with bombs?"

"You catch on quick, Larry. Where did you learn that air-to-ground ops use a lot of bombs?" Mark replied, sarcastically.

"I was just asking, is all. I'm just concerned that if we're heavy and loaded with anti-ground ordinance, we won't be able to fight off enemy air support."

"If it comes to that, just drop your bombs, and use your Sidewinders," he said, walking into the hangar.

"_This guy... He doesn't care at all about collateral damage," _Larry thought, _"But then, is it really his to judge? We're both just getting paid to destroy enemies. What a sick world this is."_

The two boarded their planes and took off, flying towards the mission airspace in relative silence. Within an hour, they'd reached the Aare River, and the Route 171 bridges were in sight.

"This is AWACS Eagle Eye to Galm," a voice came over the radio, "The target is in formation along the highway. Commence the operation."

"Keep an eye on us, up there, AWACS," Pixy replied, from Cipher's wing.

"Pixy, weapons free. Disperse on ground targets," Cipher said, breaking off and accelerating towards the first bridge.

"Belkan ground forces are blocking off our transport route. Destroy them all," Eagle Eye commanded.

The first target to come into Cipher's sights was an anti-aircraft gun. Coming in on it, he fired a short burst from his gun, peppering the ground, and the cannon, with rounds. The gun was obliterated. He turned around for another pass on the bridge, firing on the tanks that guarded it.

"The bridge is clear. On to the next one," he said. Pixy was flying at a much higher altitude, surveying the battlefield.

"This route is Ustio's lifeline. I'll get it back," he said, looking out over the field. He spotted Cipher flying near a group of houses. "Those houses are probably full of Belkan supplies. Better not take any chances."

Cipher passed the houses and dropped a bomb, and Pixy followed suit. The whole cluster of them were destroyed.

Pulling up from his bombing run, Cipher targeted and engaged an enemy plane. The pilot of the F-4 darted back and tried to escape his lock, but to no avail. Cipher launched a missile at the unlucky soul, and it destroyed the plane on impact.

"That's another kill for Galm-1," he said, confirming his shot, "Hey, Pixy, you keepin' up?"

"I'm getting there," the man replied, musingly, as he engaged another target.

Cipher continued along the route, firing on two more F-4s, which had been damaged. Flying low, he blasted another group of enemy ground units, before pulling back up into the sky, firing his remaining missile at a MiG-21 flying overhead.

"The operation is proceeding smoothly," Eagle Eye said, "Eliminate the remaining forces."

"Roger that, Eagle Eye," Cipher said, "Pixy, form up. We're gonna blast those last Belkans out of their foxholes."

"Copy, Galm-1," Pixy replied, flying his plane into formation with Cipher.

"Didn't anyone request backup?" a Belkan accidentally broadcasted to the Ustians, "Keep trying until we get a response!"

"Things are gonna get tricky if enemy reinforcements show up," Pixy said.

"Yeah, so let's get this done quickly."

The two planes sped forward, towards the last enemy position.

"On my mark, Pixy," Cipher said, arming his bomb. They were rapidly approaching the enemy entrenchment at the last bridge.

"Three... Two... One... Mark!" he shouted, dropping the explosive onto a cluster of tanks and anti-air artillery. Pixy did the same, and the combined force of the bombs wiped out the enemy resistance on the banks of the river.

"Just two more tanks on the other bank," Cipher said, turning around for another run. As he passed, he fired his cannon at a tank, while Pixy engaged the other.

"Operation complete," Eagle Eye said, "Now the Allied Forces can secure a military transport route. Well done, Galm Team. Looks like luck was on your side again, Solo Wing."

"Yeah, well, I've had my fill of goin' home without wings," Pixy replied, referring to the legend behind his red wing.

* * *

"So, Larry," Mark said, sitting down next to Larry in the Mess Hall, "I've heard some of the rumors. Why don't you tell me about the whole 'Solo Wing' thing?"

"Well," he said, "It was several years ago. I don't even remember, anymore. But, I was flying in combat in that very Eagle I fly today. During the mission, I collided with an enemy pilot. His wing sheared mine off. Somehow, I managed to keep my plane together while I flew home."

"I see," Mark replied, contemplating it, "You know, one of the rumors says you even successfully completed the mission. Crazy stuff."

"Well..." Larry started, "You could say that. The only mission a pilot has in enemy skies is to survive. No more, no less. I survived, so I completed my mission."

"That certainly is one way of looking at it," conceded Mark.


End file.
